OK. This is a little tricky. Whenever we start talking Holy Trinity, we’re starting to step somewhere beyond the bounds of human logic or rational categories. We’re stepping into the supra-rational.
Nonetheless, a good percentage of Christians end up repeating and reinforcing some version of this myth, one way or another.
“Jesus was created by his Father.”
“Jesus is less than his Father.”
“Jesus is the first begotten of the Father, so he must have a beginning.”
“Jesus is less divine than his Father.”
Maybe you’re a little fuzzy on this, so a little history might give you some perspective.
In the fourth century, a Lybian priest named Arius (ca. 250-336) came up with a statement that threatened to split the ancient Church. “If the Son is begotten of the Father, then he had a beginning…If the Son had a beginning, there was a time when he was not.” This heresy became known as “Arianism”. This belief became popular, even among the clergy.
Theologians Alexander and Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt argued that Arius had denied the true nature of Christ’s divinity. They insisted that Christ was not of a similar substance as the Father in terms of his divinity, but that he was of the same substance.
Fearing the debate could split the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine called for an ecumenical council in 325. A second ecumenical council needed to be convened eventually in the year 381. The result of this meeting was an expansion of what is known as the “Nicene Creed”, a statement of fatih and doctrine which was expanded to say in part:
“The only-begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all worlds,
Light of Light,
Very God of very God,
Begotten, not made,
Being of one substance with the Father,
By whom all things were made.”
In other words, the Father didn’t make the Son. He’s not inferior to the Father.
The New Testament makes the same case, of course, in John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1, just to name a few.
The bottom line? Jesus is a good and great as the Father. Equally and eternally existent God. To embrace a different kind of Jesus, I suppose, is to fail to embrace Jesus at all.
Share this post today to help people in your life who are resisting Jesus by repeating this old myth about him. You can learn more about the 21 Myths in 21 Days blog series by clicking here!
Check out these other posts on the following myths: no historical proof of Jesus’ life, that it’s possible to follow Jesus and check out of the Church, that Jesus taught the same thing other world religious leaders have, that Jesus is soft, easy, and accepting, that there are natural explanations for the supernatural miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the idea that Jesus wants his followers to be rich, the denial of the divinity of Jesus, the myth that the Bible teaches theological truths about Jesus, but not historically reliable ones, the myth that the Bible’s story about Jesus has changed over time, the fable that Jesus was never crucified, that there are other gospels than the four in the New Testament, that Jesus is a Republican, as well as the myth that Jesus was an only child.
